


This is How We Dance

by maraudquxxrs



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2020-10-11 13:00:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20546558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maraudquxxrs/pseuds/maraudquxxrs
Summary: Modern & Muggle AU where the marauders all go to a pride event where the girls have a gig. Ft. genderqueer Sirius who loves glitter, mesh clothing and their boyfriend; the marauders using the Potter mansion as a coterie; James, Lily & Regulus being in a polyam relationship; many, many songs; and our favorite marauder girls in a band called The Q Rebellion.





	1. One

“WE GOT THE GIG! WE GOT THE BLOODY FUCKING GIG!” Marlene yelled, running through the halls of their house. It was barely 7 AM and Marlene’s loud voice was echoing off the walls, which, to be honest, was one of the worst ways to wake up in Sirius’s mind.

They slipped out of bed, not even bothering to put on more clothes and opened their and Remus’s door to find Marlene at the top of the steps, about to start another round around the second floor, which was where the bedrooms were. Sirius growled at her, not something uncommon for them, and said, “Marly, I told you. Stop using the word ‘bloody’ so close to the word ‘fucking’. We’re 22, we do not need to be thinking about our first times.”

Marlene rolled her eyes, and said “Shut up Si,” before yelling, “BECAUSE WE GOT THE BLOODY! FUCKING! GIG!” Sirius raised an eyebrow at her in question, and Marlene yelled, “THE GIG! The gig for the Pride concert hosted every year at that pub ran by the cute lesbian who I used to flirt with to make Cas (an: pronounced like ‘Kiss’; a nickname for Dorcas) jealous!”

Sirius finally got her excitement, and they started jumping around, “The Three Broomsticks gig? Oh Merlin, I’m so proud of you guys!” Everyone else had started walking out of their bedrooms, sleepy and confused but when they heard the last part of the conversation, they started jumping around too. James and Regulus stopped jumping in excitement when they saw Lily, who was eight months pregnant bouncing and went into “protective boyfriends” mode.

While those three were in their own little world, Dorcas, the sleepiest of them all, said, “Wait, we got the gig?” Marlene nodded, and Dorcas grabbed Mary’s arms, jumping up and down like little kids would, and then Marlene tackled them both to the floor. They were all kind of a mess.

When James stopped his little rant about how bouncing could hurt the baby to a very annoyed, very hungry but ultimately very loved Lily and Lily had gone on her rant about how she was the woman in the relationship and how she was the one pregnant and how she knew her own body, he turned to the rest of them, sighing at having lost yet another argument with his girlfriend and at the sight of the three girls on the floor, and said, “I’m making celebratory pancakes!”

Almost everyone started making their way downstairs, Marlene saying that she needed to call their managers, Gideon and Fabian, and Remus and Sirius staying upstairs for a celebration of their own, happy to have the upstairs to themselves for once.

* * *

A week later, everyone was piled into Marlene’s huge van, which could only actually seat five of them with the instruments and equipment in the back. James, ever the mom friend, was driving with Lily, at everyone’s insistence, was in the passenger’s seat, while the other six were smushed into the middle seats, Sirius in their mesh shirt and skinny jeans that left nothing to the imagination sitting in Remus’s lap, Marlene and Dorcas making out heavily in the middle, and Mary squeezed in between the hot and heavy girls and Regulus, who just looked uncomfortable.

“Why can’t we take two cars again?” he cried out and everyone, even Marlene and Dorcas, looked at him like he was crazy.

“This is how we bond, Reg!! Friends need to bond!” Marlene replied, looking very serious about her answer, but with one look at his bewildered face, she bursts out laughing, “No, it’s because James, your boyfriend, is our main source of income, budget planner and the environmentalist of the group, and insists that using two cars when we can all fit in one is increasing our carbon footprint and killing the earth.”

“Oh, right,” Regulus said, before deadpanning, “James we have to break-up.”

“Regulus, don’t you dare, I cannot raise this baby alone!” Lily cried out, and everyone began to flip out because what the fuck did she mean by that.

“If Regulus left, James would die of sadness, and I would isolate myself to live alone for the remainder of my miserable life,” Lily said, rubbing her swollen baby and continuing “plus, I love Regulus too much to let him leave.”

Everyone awwwed, except James, who looked perturbed at everyone making a joke about his environmentalism, and Regulus, who blushed deeply and said, “I love you too Lily.”

No one noticed that Remus and Sirius were now the ones snogging, Sirius turning the make-out session down a far too sexual path seeing as they were less than a foot away from other people.

* * *

They took one stop at a petrol station, James saying that they needed to get fuel now, because they would be too pumped to think about it after the show, and as soon as Regulus got out of the car, he took a deep breath of fresh air and made a dramatic scene that challenged Sirius’s role as the drama queen of the group.

James rolled his eyes and said, “Fineee, Reg, we’ll take two cars next time and risk killing the planet.” Obviously, he didn’t really mean it, but everyone, even Lily who had been sitting alone, thanked Merlin and he knew he wouldn’t be able to take it back.

Once they were all back in the girl, now with snacks they got from inside, Mary said, “Reg is right. I would rather be tied to the top of the car than shoved inside.”

Marlene looked at her with wide eyes, “Oh, Merlin, your kinky side is coming out, Mary, this means we really need to get you laid. Maybe you’ll meet someone at the concert.”

“One, eww. Two, that is not what I meant. Three, I doubt it,” Mary replied snarkily.

Everyone started debating Mary’s love life, or lack of it, and she just sat there thinking that, yes, even being tied to the back of the car would be preferable to this. Finally, she reached into the front seat, turning on the radio, and as if by fate, _Is it still me who makes you sweat? Am I still who you think about in bed?_ were the first lyrics they heard and everyone forgot about the car ordeal and began laughing and singing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Playlist  
1\. Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off by Panic! At the Disco


	2. Two

After Sirius, Remus, Regulus and James had helped the girls get their equipment backstage, obviously not letting Lily carry anything, they entered the crowd that was already spilling out of the bar that had been cleared of any furniture in preparation, despite the fact the concert had not started yet.

They were already sweating from the being packed against people shoulder-to shoulder and despite Regulus’s protests, Sirius had taken off their shirt, throwing the mesh fabric over their shoulder, surprising everyone by calling out, “Frank? Frank is that you?”

They fought through the crowd, taking a minute to get just ten feet across the bar and they were all suddenly face to face with people they used to go to school with. “I knew it was you Frank! And you too Alice! I haven’t seen you guys in so long,” Sirius said throwing their arms around Frank, obviously not worried about the fact that they were shirtless.

Frank pulled away and looked Sirius up and down embarrassedly, saying “I see you haven’t changed at all Sirius,” and while Sirius was pretending that they were offended before going on to hug Alice and then Emmeline, who they hadn’t seen, Frank looked past him, his eyes brightening when he saw James and he continued, “And James is here as well! It’s so nice to see you again!”

Sirius made disgruntled noises again, Remus looked perturbed at not being noticed, and Regulus looked a little pissed, knowing that Frank and James kind of had a “will-they-won’t-they” thing in high school, but James just smiled and said, “Hi Frank! It’s nice to see you too. I don’t know if you remember him or not, but this is my boyfriend, Reg, and our girlfriend is playing tonight. The Q Rebellion.”

Alice quickly introduced them to her cousins, Hestia, who was a few years older than them, and Gwenog, who was quite a bit younger than them, and James could tell that this was her first concert by how excited she looked. He made a note to introduce her to the manager's nephew, who loved concerts and who he believed was around her age.

The first act was getting on stage, and James said, “You guys have to come to the after party at our house. You can even stay the night. We have room,” before turning to the stage, where a band consisted of about seven people introduced themselves as Fifteen Possible Girls, opening with an original song about Medusa and her nonbinary partner that she tried not to turn to stone.

The crowd went wild and those of them that had seen the band play before or who had watched their YouTube videos sung along with lyrics, their little group included. The people were jumping up and down, never in sync yet it still seemed like some perfect planned-out motion, and they laughed and screamed and a lot of them were thinking that this was the best night of their lives, being able to be so free with people who were just like them at a concert that was all about celebrating who they are. And it kind of was.

* * *

Remus slipped back through the crowd right as the fourth act was playing, getting ready to help the girls moves their instruments on and off the stage, and now a duo was playing a love song, obviously written by one to the other. James noted their great chemistry with another, the way they played and danced so seamlessly together, the way their voices blended together as if one, but also noted that they were nowhere near as good as the girls. But he was biased.

When the girls finally came on stage, James’ grin grew at seeing Lily behind the drum set, and tried not to think about all the articles he had read about how loud noises could damage the baby’s hearing, because Lily had given him enough lectures about how the baby was going to be fine, plus it was being introduced to great music.

_“Find tables spaces, say your social graces, bow your head, they’re pious here, but you and I, we’re pioneers, we make our own rules, our own room, no bias here…”_

The band started playing their cover of Wild Things by Alessia Cara, and while not everyone in the crowd knew the lyrics by heart, but as soon as Marlene began singing, the crowd started trying to sing along with her, dancing in the little room that they had. James turned to Reg, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and pulling him even closer, so that every part of themselves that could touch were touching, and kissed every inch of Regulus’s skin that he could reach at the moment. He and Reggie weren’t typically big on PDA, not like Remus and Sirius were, or even Marlene and Dorcas, but listening to their girlfriend and best friends play in a room of people who didn’t care what they were doing was a different story. They could be themselves. They didn’t have to hide.

_“So hey, we brought our drum and this is how we dance, no mistakin’, we make our breaks, and if you don’t like our 808s, then leave us alone, ‘cause we don’t need your policies, we have no apologies for being…”_

Everyone began singing as the chorus began and James threw his head back, laughing at the pure joy of it and practically screaming, _“FIND ME WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE!”_ Regulus was less enthusiastic about it, mumbling the words into James’ chest, so that he was the only one able to hear him as he felt the familiar vibrations of Regulus’ voice in his chest, making their ways to his heart. He kissed Regulus again, hard and fast before continuing to sing the song.

_“I lose my balance on these eggshells, you tell me to tread, but I’d rather be a wild one instead_…”

When the song ended a couple minutes later, James blew a kiss to the stage, hoping that Lily would see and knowing that she wouldn’t, before fighting through the crowd with Regulus (Sirius stayed back with Alice, Frank and Emmeline) to get backstage. They probably could have spent the entire time backstage but there was just something about being in the crowd at concerts. Something that made James feel so alive he wouldn’t ever trade for standing backstage.

And when he finally got to Lily, he got a feeling like that too. But this time he had a word for it – love. He was full of it, for Lily and Regulus and his unborn baby and all of his friends. It was the greatest feeling in the world to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Playlist  
2\. Wild Things by Alessia Cara


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a new chapter. I got to say, I love Mary's POV.

Mary loved being on stage, loved being in a band, but she always sweat so much while playing and afterwards, her throat was incredibly dry. She had forgotten her reusable water bottle at home, she wasn’t going to take Lily’s, Marlene and Dorcas both had alcohol in theirs, and Sirius, the only other one who carried a water bottle, was somewhere out in the crowd. So, she was trying to navigate through backstage, which was really a very wide hallway to get to the bar. Or the restroom. She was kind of desperate at this point. And that’s when she saw him.

A redheaded man was now on stage, and she heard the person who announced the acts refer to him as Gin Cattermole. He was sitting on a stool, that he must have brought himself because its design matched the design of the cane leaning against it – and both looked hand-painted. She was immediately fascinated by him. And that was before he started singing. “_You must think that I'm stupid, you must think that I'm a fool, you must think that I'm new to this, but I have seen this all before…_” He had a deep voice and she was in love with it.

She mouthed the next words of the song – Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith – along with him, “_I'm never gonna let you close to me, even though you mean the most to me, ‘cause every time I open up, it hurts…_”. But after that, she was completely breathless. The emotion of his voice when he sang the words, “_And every time you walk out, the less I love you, baby, we don't stand a chance, it's sad but it's true_,” absolutely broke her heart and she couldn’t sing along anymore.

After he had sung the last lyrics of the song, he grabbed the cane, which Mary now saw was loosely attached to the stool with velcro, and once he was on steady legs with the cane, he picked up the stool as well. Mary, still in crush mode, didn’t realize he was walking towards her, or that she was in the entrance to the stage until he was already in front of her and introducing himself.

“Hi, I’m Gin,” he said, smiling with his teeth, and Mary noted that he was one of those rare people that actually looked good when they smiled with all their teeth. She blushed a deep red and bit her lip as she smiled, and they began to walk together, falling into awkward sync with each other immediately, before she responded, “I’m Mary. Part of The Q Rebellion.”

“I know. I follow you guys on YouTube. You play rhythm guitar. You’re the backup singer… I know it’s weird to admit this but I wanted to hear you sing lead,” Gin said, and Mary put her hand over her mouth as she laughed, her eyes crinkling. She looked down at her feet.

“Marlene is a much better singer than me,” Mary replied.

“I don’t believe that,” Gin said, pushing open the door to the parking lot. She was a little nervous but continued walking with him anyways. He led her to a small pale green car that he opened up the trunk of and placed the stool into it, closing the trunk before turning to her.

“So… I was planning on going home but I can text my sister, tell her not to wait for me… stay at the concert maybe,” he said, questioning her. She could tell he was nervous too.

“Me and my friends are having an after-party at our house, you can come if you’ll drive me. Eight of us, one van. It’s a nightmare,” Mary joked, but Gin said he’d be alright with that.

“Can I just text my friend real quick,” Mary asked, her hands shaking a bit. Gin nodded.

**Mary:** Sirius, I met a guy and he’s really great but I need you to come meet me in the parking lot NOW because I’m kind of nervous. He’s super eager and says he’ll give me a ride but I swear to Merlin, I am not getting in his car alone.

**Sirius:** What do I get out of it?

**Mary:** Me not telling Remus about that time we got high and you made out with a lampshade and then proceeded to cry for an hour because you thought you cheated on him.

**Sirius: **Wtf

**Sirius: **Be right there

***

After Sirius got the texts, they put back on their shirt and then were followed out of the bar by Alice, Emmeline, Hestia, and Gwenog, who thought they might as well just follow this guy Mary met back to the house, seeing as Sirius and Mary would be going. Plus, Gwenog needed to go to bed.

Sirius spotted Mary and sprinted over to her, checking out the guy leaning against the car next to her. They swept their friend into their arms, whispering into her ear, “I hate you but your taste has gotten a whole lot better.” Mary pushed them on the chest, replying with her middle finger in the air before turning to Gin and smiling, “You can fit Sirius in your car too, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Gin said, still smiling, “you played the bass in one of TQR’s videos, right?”

“You didn’t tell me he was one of the fanboys, Mary,” Sirius said gleefully, “I would have been a whole lot happier to do this for you if you had told me that.” He turned to Gin. “Hi, I’m Sirius, Mary’s best friend and protector. They/them pronouns.”

“I’m Gin,” he said, “and trust me, my sister is a way bigger fangirl. Amelia loves you guys. She runs an Etsy shop and sells merch for you. And she also has a huge celeb crush on Mary here.”

“Mary here doesn’t believe she’s a celebrity,” Sirius says.

“She also doesn’t think she’s good enough to be a lead singer,” Gin said, as he started the car and began driving out of the parking lot. Mary had told him that they would have a tail so he didn’t worry about the grey car driving behind them.

“Well, I can’t say anything bad about Marlene because we were each other’s beards in school and that means no shit-talking between us ever again,” Sirius said, before continuing, “but Mary here is a good singer. And completely crushworthy.”

“Sirius.”

“Though she doesn’t always attract the right guys. She had this ex back in school that outed me and Marlene –“

“Sirius!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Playlist  
3\. Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith


	4. Four

Gin was extremely uncomfortable. After Mary had cut off what her friend Sirius was saying, no one had said anything. He didn’t want to impose on what seemed like touchy subject matter, but he was also super curious. Plus, he really liked Mary and wanted to know everything about her. He decided to talk to her later, so that they would not be in a car when the discussion was happening. He had learned not to bring up touchy subject matter while in cars. He focused on not having a panic attack as he followed his phone’s directions to Mary’s house.

* * *

Meanwhile in the other car, Hestia and Alice were discussing who was at fault for Gwenog never having watched Lemonade Mouth and also, not knowing who Hayley Kiyoko was. It began when Wanna Be Missed started playing on Alice’s phone, who had her Spotify playlist on shuffle.

_“Wanna be loved every night, wanna know she's only mine, breathe her in, give me life, got all these hearts in line, they all wasting their time, ‘cause only you do me right…”_

“Man, didn’t you love Hayley Kiyoko in Lemonade Mouth,” Alice asked the whole car when she recognized the song playing, not realizing what she was starting.

“What’s Lemonade Mouth,” Gwenog asked, sleepily. She loved hanging out with her cousin, but she never got her references, because they were all before her time.

Alice’s jaw dropped. “Tia, have you been depriving your little sister of one of the greatest Disney movies of all time? How can she not know what Lemonade Mouth is?”

“You watch her every day after school Lissy, you could show it to her anytime you want,” Hestia replied from the drivers seat, purposely using the nickname her cousin hated.

Alice glared at her and looked for backup in her significant others sitting next to her, but they were both asleep, Emmeline using Frank’s shoulder as a pillow. “What is the point in dating two people when they are both asleep when you need them?”

Hestia rolled her eyes, and glanced back at her cousin, “You love them.”

Alice looked at them sleeping again, and smiled, “Yeah, I do,” but then her tone changed quickly, “but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be backing me up right now.”

_“I wanna be missed like every night, I wanna be kissed like it's the last time, say you can't eat, can't sleep, can't breathe without me, I wanna be held, fragile like glass, ‘cause I've never felt nothing like that, say you can't walk, can't talk, go on without me…”_

* * *

Mary stepped out of the car, breathing in the fresh air, which was thankfully not as tense as the air in the car, where her best friend almost revealed her not so great past with relationships. She stretched out her arms and cracked the joints of her back - the air wasn’t the only thing that was tense.

Sirius got out of the car and immediately tried to apologize to Mary. “I’m really sorry, Mary, it just slipped out, I shouldn’t have said –”. Mary cut them off again with a cold glare, and headed towards the house. Gin followed behind her, walking with the cane again.

Sirius just stood there, blinking back tears.

* * *

After Mary got into the house, she set up Gwenog in her room, knowing that it was the cleanest of all the bedrooms due to obvious reasons. She gave Frank, Emmeline, Alice, and Hestia (the former two looked like they had just woken up) a tour of the house, and finally she collapsed on the couch next to Gin with a huge bag of crisps (that she really didn’t want to share).

She didn’t see Sirius, which meant they were probably in their room.

“I’m sorry that I left you sitting here alone,” Mary said, with an almost convincing forced smile. Gin smiled at her in return, and she could see he looked worried… or anxious. “I’m also sorry for what happened in your car too. Sometimes Si doesn’t know when to shut up.”

“You can tell me about it, you know,” Gin replied, looking at her, “I’m not easily scared off. I have some not so great exes as well.” He wasn’t planning on sharing this with her tonight, but he felt like she needed a push to open up about whatever Sirius had been talking about. “When I told my ex about me being trans, he wasn’t too happy. He was driving, and while he was scolding me for not telling him before, for tricking or whatever… he drove off the side of the road. We hit a tree. He walked away with some bruised ribs, but I ended up with old Janie here because of the injuries to my spine and legs,” Gin said, lifting his cane when he said Janie.

“You named your cane Janie,” Mary asked, chuckling a little bit before continuing, “Sorry, that’s not the point at all, I know. That’s horrible though. I can’t believe he reacted so badly.” Gin smiled softly at her when she put her hand over his, “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“Well, I’ve told you my bad ex story, would you be willing to tell me yours,” Gin asked, full of hope.

Mary took a long breath before starting, “Peter was Sirius’s friend before mine. They had been friends since they were eleven. I met Sirius around sixteen, back when they were dating Marlene, and they introduced me to Peter. And Peter was nice – he didn’t mind me being trans or queer. But when we started dating, he got a little aggressive. It was nothing bad, not really, just him grabbing my arm a lot, sometimes leaving bruises. But when I confronted him about him outing Sirius and Marlene, he gave me a black eye. When Sirius found out, they threatened Peter, said if he ever came near any of us again, they would call up their uncle and make sure Peter was charged with harassment.” Mary was rubbing her wrists throughout the story, still feeling his hands on her years later.

Gin pulled Mary into a hug and whispered, “I’ll never do anything like that to you. Or anyone.”

Mary smiled at him, setting the bag of crisps down and began leaning into the hug.

Gin continued when they pulled apart, “You need to talk to Sirius though, I can tell they’re sorry.”

Mary nodded, thanked him, and went off to find Sirius.

* * *

Sirius was lying in their bed, waiting for Remus to get home. They were sick to their stomach, and felt like they had ruined Mary’s chance with the fanboy – who from the little interaction they had, seemed like a great guy for her. Better than Peter.

Sirius still felt guilty about that.

They heard a knock at the door, and then it opening. They turned in their bed to see Mary, anxiously smiling at them and looking at them as if she wanted to know if she could come in. They sat up, and gestured for her to come in. Mary joined them on the bed.

Sirius turned to her and said, “I really am sorry. About everything. From introducing you to Peter at all to bringing it up tonight.” Mary smiled and shook her head at them.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Si,” she said, “I however should apologize for getting so mad at you.” She pulled them closer to her, falling back on the bed. She then sighed and asked, “How badly do I want to take a shower now that I’m on your bed?”

Sirius thought for a moment and said, “Very badly, you want to take a shower very badly.”

They both laughed as Mary sat up and brushed off her clothes.

* * *

Once everyone else got home, the afterparty began and of course, Marlene was the first to go up for karaoke. _“I read the signs, I got all my stars aligned, my amulets, my charms, I set all my false alarms, so I’ll be someone who be forgotten, I’ve got a question and you’ve got an answer…”_

Dorcas was sitting on the couch next to Alice, and both were drinking a fruity alcohol that neither could remember the name of at this point, and Alice said, “She sounds exactly like St. Vincent, she even gives off the same vibes.”

_“I do a dance to make the rain come, smile to keep the sky from falling down down down down, collect the love that I've been given, build a nest for us to sleep in here, you know it's real…”_ Dorcas’s mind raced, thinking about what Alice was saying and what album this song was from, and whispered, “Annie Clark…”

“What,” Alice asked, turning towards Dorcas.

“Annie Clark. That’s St. Vincent’s real name,” Dorcas said, her mind still racing. She opened the notes app in her phone and began writing as many of her thoughts down as she could.

“I know, isn’t that the softest name for a rock star ever,” Alice said, her eyes wide as she saw some of the words on Dorcas’s phone. She couldn’t put it all together but she was excited nevertheless.

_“I check my palms, the cracks in the sidewalk, my visions and my dreams, I cross all my fingers, that you'll be someone that won't be forgotten, what was your question, I've got the answer…”_

Dorcas looked up, only having eyes for Marlene, and finally replied, “Yeah, yeah it is.”

* * *

Regulus went up to bed with Lily around 2 AM and shortly after, James and Gin were both on the couch drinking a mixture of the alcohols that were in the kitchen and trying to convince Mary to sing. Sirius took a break from making out with Remus in a chair to encourage them and that was when Mary finally realized she had lost the battle.

Mary went to the front of the room and said, “I don’t know a whole lot of songs but here’s one that I’ve listened to hundreds of times and memorized.” She took a breath. _“She's got me going crazy, talking to the, talking to the moon. adrenaline starts to overtake me when she. walks into the, walks into the room, at first I wasn't sure of it, then I was just ok with it, I cannot get enough of it. now I love it.” _Sirius, James, and Gin cheered.

Mary looked at Gin when she sung the lyrics, _“He shows me things I can't see, I like this feeling, like this feeling free, I feel no shame, not guilty, no I just feel more, I just feel more me…”_

She felt so free while singing, though that could be the weed she and Sirius had broke out once Lily went upstairs, the smell of which they would have to clear up with Febreeze before they went to bed.

When she was done, she flopped down on the couch and said, “I’m sleeping here, I guess.”

“Same,” said James, “but I can sleep on the floor,” he continued, looking at Gin.

“Yeah, we’re going to bed,” Remus said, dragging Sirius upstairs.

“Be quiet,” Mary said to them, “there is a twelve-year-old sleeping in my room and I do not want her traumatized because of how loud you guys are.”

“We’ll just use the gags,” Remus said, clearly drunk.

Mary shivered, acting disgusted, before curling up against the couch, ready to fall asleep, “I did not need to know that.” James and Gin laughed.

* * *

Lily and Regulus woke up around nine the next morning and began making cheese toasties for all the inhabitants of the house, knowing that it was at least James’s favorite hangover food. Regulus pulled out the jumbo pack of Ribena juice boxes out of the fridge, setting it on the counter.

“It’s time to wake them up,” he said, his eyes wide. Hungover twenty-year-olds were scary.

“Should we use the tuba or just the cymbals,” Lily asked evilly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Playlist  
4\. Wanna Be Missed by Hayley Kiyoko  
5\. All My Stars Aligned by St. Vincent  
6\. Not a Phase by Jessie Paege ft. Lucy & La Mer


	5. ONE TWO THREE FOUR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over! This is the last chapter! I'm so happy that I wrote this, that I finished this.

_*one year later*_

Regulus and James were set up in the living room with baby Harry, watching the live stream of the concert on YouTube on their smart TV. They were all dancing – or spinning – around the living room when Harry began babbling at the TV when the girls started playing because he saw his mum on the screen, playing the drums. They collapsed on the couch now that Harry was sufficiently distracted, and Regulus reached over to James, putting his hand over his boyfriend’s and interlocking their fingers.

* * *

“I’m so excited,” Gwenog yelled over all the noise to her friend, Bill. He was the nephew of the band’s managers and that was how they met – now they were best friends.

“I am too,” Bill yelled back. He had been to many concerts but he never was any less excited. “One day, I hope that we’ll be up there, playing in front of a crowd like this.”

“I hope that too,” Gwenog said, turning to the stage right as the two’s second favorite band (after The Q Rebellion) came on. She had recently started taking bass lessons from Sirius and she couldn’t wait to begin making music with her best friend. But for now, she just danced with him, letting her grab her hand and spin her around, laughing.

* * *

Marlene began playing, looking back at her fiancée, smiling before turning back to the crowd. _“The truth runs wild, like a tear down a cheek…” _The crowd immediately recognized the song, and began singing along. Some people would get distracted by that, but those people weren’t cut out to be singers. And she loved when the crowd sang with her.

She stepped back when it was time for Mary to sing with her, _“Without losing a piece of me, how do I get to heaven? Without changing a part of me, how do I get to heaven? All my time is wasted, feeling like my heart's mistaken, oh. So, if I'm losing a piece of me, maybe I don't want heaven.”_

Mary stepped forward when it was time for her sing alone. It was the first time that she had done this at a gig and she was nervous, but Marlene gave her an encouraging nod_. “The truth runs wild, like the rain to the sea, trying to set straight the lines that I trace, to find some release, this voice inside has been eating at me, trying to embrace the picture I paint and color me free.”_

Marlene was so right. Singing in front of a crowd was so mind-blowing, so spectacular. Mary loved this feeling. It was like a drug. She couldn’t wait for more of it.

* * *

Alice was dancing in the crowd, singing along with Marlene and Mary. She was so happy, dancing in between her significant others. Frank, who had been encouraged by Sirius to be less closed up about his fashion choices, was wearing an open buttoned shirt, and was currently holding Alice’s hips, dancing along with her. Emmeline had her arms around Alice’s waist and was kissing the back of Alice’s neck as they danced. They were thankfully very far from Hestia and Gwenog, because Hestia would not be happy if they were dancing like this in front of her thirteen-year-old sister.

* * *

Sirius kissed Remus on the cheek before he went on the stage, saying “Good luck baby.” Remus headed on stage with Gin. It was one of his first performances, the very first in front of a crowd like this. He was nervous, but Sirius giving him a good luck kiss definitely calmed some of his nerves.

Gin’s sister Amelia had hand painted his stool, a dark blue with stars and the moon painted on it. He loved it, and he carried it on stage with him, just like Gin carried his. Gin had his guitar and Remus had his keyboard, which were both painted as well.

Remus was the first to begin singing_. “No, your mom don't get it and your dad don't get it, Uncle John don't get it and you can't tell grandma ‘cause her heart can't take it and she might not make it.”_ His voice was soft, unsure, but the crowd loved him.

Gin joined him with the next verse, and his voice was raw, and blended well with Remus’s. _“They say, "Don't dare, don't you even go there, cutting off your long hair, you do as you're told”. Tell you, "Wake up, go put on your makeup, this is just a phase you're gonna outgrow." _Tears began to enter Gin’s eyes and Remus could tell by his shaking voice, looking over to shoot him a soft smile.

Amelia and Sirius were backstage, waiting for Gin and Remus, and Amelia said, “I’m so proud of him – of both of them, but especially my brother. He never would have the courage to do this a couple year ago.” Sirius laughed, thinking the same thing about their boyfriend.

Mary joined them, sneaking a peak at her boyfriend. “Can I tell you guys a secret,” she asked, smiling widely. They looked at her curiously. “I found a ring in his nightstand today.”

Both of their eyes went wide. “Oh my god, Mary, I’m so excited for you.” They and Remus had alluded to the possible future of marriage, but Sirius was happy where they were. They didn’t need a ring or a ceremony to know that Remus loved them. But they were happy for Mary as well. They pulled her into a hug, picking her up and spinning her in the air.

“I can’t believe my brother didn’t tell me,” Amelia said, shocked, looking back at the stage.

* * *

James turned off the TV when the concert finished around midnight, getting a text from Lily that said _Coming home, _almost immediately. Regulus was already deep asleep, Harry passed out on top of him. He smiled. He was so happy.

* * *

Sirius laid in bed next to their boyfriend. “Gin is proposing to Mary, you know?”

“I know. He told me,” Remus whispered back, turning over to face Sirius.

“Have you ever… do you think… would you want to marry me someday,” Sirius asked nervously, biting their lip. They just wanted to know what Remus’s thoughts on it were.

“Is that an offer,” Remus asked, laughing, “because I don’t see a ring.”

“Would you say yes if I had one,” Sirius asked.

“Yeah,” Remus replied, smiling, “I would.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Playlist  
7\. Heaven by Troye Sivan ft. Betty Who  
8\. The Village by Wrabel


End file.
